the life you live could be your own

anarchophobia

2006-11-11T23:41:00.000-05:00

check out this blog by a friend of mine....

http://anarchophobia.blogspot.com/

GCLP watches State of the Union 2006

2006-08-27T10:42:00.000-04:00

Wow, these are soooo out of date. But I just found 'em and I like 'em...

Chinese food before we leave

The crew at the moviehouse about to see dubya on the big screen

Just the gals

i feel awed

2006-06-03T16:13:00.000-04:00

this isn't a libertarian post for once, but its so damn cool i had to share:

http://www.wefeelfine.org/

just click on the "open we feel fine" to load the app. i think this is THE neatest online art project i've seen yet, and i look at quite a bit of art online.

p.s. i like "murmurs" and "montage" the best out of the features....

This Year's Tax Day

2006-04-30T17:54:00.000-04:00

Despite the oddball screaming at Paul and telling him that he "wouldn't exist without the IRS," and even though the weather was the worst in the history of greensboro tax day protests, we still stood out there and even got some press, although Rob was horribly mis-quoted... the author is supposedly going to print a retraction.

Nostalgia

2006-04-30T17:44:00.000-04:00

Pics from the 2004 Tax Day Protest (when the weather was much nicer!):

Policy

2006-03-23T21:58:00.000-05:00

Click here to get a .pdf of the full text of the new policy dealing with the Free Speech Zones.

UNCG still doesn't get the point....

2006-03-22T00:04:00.000-05:00

Here's a link to the most recent development in the UNCG Free Speech Zone Saga: http://tinyurl.com/nsc23

UNCG's attorney (a grown man who calls himself "Skip") made this ignorant statement to a News & Record reporter: "[The new policy] does away with the notion of free-speech zones completely." To illustrate just how clueless he is, let me begin by explaining the new policy.

First, the good news: The new policy does NOT designate specific "zones" any longer where students may exercise their first amendment rights. Instead, they have specific distances an assembly of students must be from certain types of facilities. And, of course, the totally reasonable restriction on blocking sidewalks and roadways.

Now the bad news: School identification is now specifically required to be present on all students participating in a peaceful assembly of any kind. It is bad enough that the state of NC requires its own citizens to carry their "papers" at all times, but now students assembling on their campus lawns must also be sure to bring their school issued ID. Have your papers out and ready for inspection...

Here's the worst part: At least 12 hours notice of an assembly or petitioning/distribution of literature must be given to campus police! This is wrong on many, many levels. This means that one individual handing out pamphlets to fellow students on his/her way to class can be subject to a violation of school policy if they did not call the police station the day before to report the intent to distribute literature. This also means that spontaneous protests are not allowed ever on campus grounds. For example, immediately following the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, many university religious organizations held prayer circles and vigils on campuses all across the country. Under UNCG's new and improved policy, this wouldn't have been allowed without the required 12 hours notice. When this was brought up in the meetings where they drafted this policy, several administrators claimed that an "exception" would be made for those kinds of events. I see, I see... but what if the event in question was directed against the University itself? Or was of a controversial nature? Would they give all of those exceptions as well? Of course not. This is yet another tool used to filter the content of speech on campus.

During the spring of 2003, when the "shock and awe" attack on Iraq was imminent, many groups planned for local emergency protests to take place on the afternoon of whichever day the administration actually went ahead and bombed the citizens of Iraq into oblivion. The idea was that we all knew *what* we were going to protest and *how* we were going to protest it, but we didn't know *when*. This widely used form of protest is still illegal on the campus of UNCG.

If the Chancellor of UNCG and "Skip" Capone had half a brain between them, they would realize that the only policy that needs to exist is one that states that assemblies or groups of students are subject to the same regulations as individual students. Assemblies must not be allowed to harass or assault others, block thoroughfares, create excessive noise or incite a riot. These are all restrictions that already exist for all students, faculty and staff that attend UNCG (and for all individuals in the state of North Carolina). Why not leave it at that and let *peaceful* assembly thrive on campus?

Stay tuned for updates on continuing protests and direct action from the College Libertarians....

Rhino LTE

2006-03-01T17:38:00.000-05:00

As promised, here's the very informative LTE that the Rhino printed a few issues ago:

Right to assemble

Dear Editor,

I was proud to be a part of a peaceful protest on South Elm Street, Jan. 31, 2006 in Greensboro, to protest George W. Bush and his regime. The event took place at The Scene on South Elm Street. The group (over 200, despite what the News & Record reported) was made up of high school and college students, parents, lawyers, businesswomen and men, artists, actors and professionals.

At 9 p.m. the protesters took to the streets for a peaceful (and, yes, loud) march throughout the streets of downtown Greensboro, symbolically drowning out President Bush’s State of The Union address.

Again, all of this was peaceful without any violence or trouble making whatsoever. At approximately 9:45 p.m., when protesters had regrouped in front of The Scene, the Greensboro Police Department began to bully protesters to silence. It was the most sickening display I have witnessed since the 1979 communist shootings (of course, there were no police there then when needed). Several people were thrown to the ground for no reason and arrested (again, I was witness to this) and one college-aged girl was maced in the eyes by one of the police who walked away after she fell to the ground screaming.

When I myself began to shout “police brutality” at the officer, he yelled at me to, “Shut your mouth or you’re next”.

I have always had a great respect for the Greensboro police, as I think they usually do a wonderful job of protecting the citizens of Greensboro (my home town), but after this brutal display of strong arming, bullying, unnecessary violence, working up a peaceful crowd into a panicked frenzy, I have lost all respect for the police. They were completely out of line and dangerous in their tactics.

Frighteningly, it reminded me of pre-roundup in Nazi Germany. Is the Police Department being strong-armed by the government? I am beginning to believe that the Police Department is just as corrupt as the rest of our so called leaders.

We, as citizens, have the right to assemble and the right to peaceful demonstration and, most importantly, in my opinion, freedom of speech. We, as American citizens, will not be silenced by threats or scare tactics. (License plate numbers were also being photographed thanks to our so-called Patriot Act.) I am an adamant patriot of our country but not of the Bush administration, and this is my right as an American citizen.

I am outraged at the police for inciting an otherwise peaceful protest, the News & Record for printing such a lame and misleading story in the paper Feb. 1, 2006, which made the protest seem like nothing but a bunch of extreme leftist, crazy groups, which it was not, and the cowardice of the rest of the media for not truthfully and honestly covering this story. Someone actually had to phone WFMY to let them know what was going on. To their credit, they did send out a reporter. Whether or not we will see any of the footage remains to be seen. But there were very few news teams or reporters there to cover any of this protest which was part of a nationwide effort.

The media has twisted itself towards the interests of George. Is every media going to become another Fox network?

James Tunstall

And the Editor had this to say in response:
Editor’s Note: The police have been photographing license plates for over 50 years. It has nothing to do with the Patriot Act.

Three's a Crowd

2006-02-12T17:34:00.000-05:00

A recent post on lp.org has cemented my resolve to move to NH:

Congress Attempts to Kill the "Third-Party Threat"

Proposed Legislation Creates Treasury-Funded Campaigns for the Two Major Parties, Leaving Third Parties with No Means to Run

(Washington, D.C.) On February 1, congressional Democrats, led by Rep. Obey of Wisconsin, introduced a bill, H.R. 4694, that would end viable, third-party competition in races for the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill, ironically named the "Let the People Decide Clean Campaign Act," would mandate public funds (taken from the U.S. Treasury) to candidates for the House of Representatives and forbid candidates from taking private funds such as contributions from individual donors.

The ambiguously-written bill provides funds for candidates of the "two major parties" but essentially scuttles any campaign efforts of third-party or independent candidates.

For third-party candidates to be eligible for the same funds that Republicans and Democrats would receive, they would have to obtain enough signatures to exceed 20% of votes cast in the last election within their district.

The catch under the proposed legislation is that third-party or independent candidates cannot pay petitioners to collect any signatures, making it impossible to fund their campaigns.

H.R. 4694 is yet another attempt by our politicians in office to shut down Libertarian Party candidates and other competitive third-party and independent campaigns.

"The Republican and Democratic parties exist to maintain power for their own benefit. The Libertarian Party exists to grasp power for the benefit of the nation," stated Shane Cory, chief of staff for the Libertarian Party. "American voters are waking up to this reality, and as they do, the two parties are trying everything within their power to shut us down."

Drown Out Bush

2006-02-12T17:25:00.000-05:00

Despite the random rumors flying about, I was NOT maced at the Drown Out Bush protest on January 31st in dowtown Greenboro. I was in The Scene trying to watch the State of the Union and heckle Bush. But, as I understand it, some very wrong things were happening outside. In case you've only read the N&R perspective, there's a wonderful LTE printed in the Rhino Times (the issue printed last Thursday). Thanks to the Rhino for publishing this - they're not as evil as most of you think they are! As soon as their online edition catches up to date, I'll post the letter to this blog.

Time to Switch to BB&T?

2006-01-25T23:20:00.000-05:00

Regional Bank to Refuse Loans in Eminent Domain Projects
By PAUL NOWELL
Associated Press Writer

http://tinyurl.com/7o5l2

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Regional bank BB&T Corp., one of the
nation's largest financial institutions, will make no
loans to developers who plan to build commercial
projects on land taken from private citizens by the
government through the power of eminent domain, the
company said Wednesday.

"The idea that a citizen's property can be taken by
the government solely for private use is extremely
misguided, in fact it's just plain wrong," John
Allison, the bank's chairman and chief executive, said
in a statement.

In an interview, BB&T chief credit officer Ken Chalk
said the bank expects to lose only a tiny amount of
business, but believes it was obligated to take a
stance on the issue.

"It's not even a fraction of a percent," he said. "The
dollar amount is insignificant.

"We do business with a large number of consumers and
small businesses in our footprint. We are hearing from
clients that this is an important philosophical
issue."

Chalk said he knows of no other large U.S. bank with a
similar policy.

BB&T, which is headquartered in Winston-Salem, ranks
among the nation's top 10 banks by assets.

In June, a divided Supreme Court ruled that cities may
raze people's homes to make way for shopping malls or
other private development. The 5-4 decision gave local
governments the power to seize private property in the
name of increased tax revenue.

The ruling upheld a decision by the City of New
London, Conn., to seize seven property owners' land so
developers could build a hotel and high-end
condominiums to keep pharmaceutical giant Pfizer
expanding in the state.

Scott Bullock, a senior attorney with the Arlington,
Va.-based Institute of Justice who represented
homeowners in the case, applauded the bank's decision.

"Eminent domain abuse is wrong and unconstitutional,"
Bullock said in a statement. "BB&T has stepped up and
recognized its corporate responsibility to not be a
part of this shameful abuse of individual rights."

In its statement, BB&T said 38 states have recently
passed or are considering laws to ban the use of
eminent domain for private development. Similar
legislation is pending before the U.S. Congress.

"While we're certainly optimistic about the pending
legislation, this is something we could not wait any
longer to address," Chalk said in a statement. "We're
a company where our values dictate our decision-making
and operating standards. From that standpoint, this
was a straightforward decision; it's simply the right
thing to do."

BB&T, with $109 billion in assets, operates more than
1,400 branches in 11 states and Washington, D.C.

UNCG Backs Down

2006-01-21T13:19:00.000-05:00

UNCG drops charges against me and Rob. Check out the News & Record article.

Go Texas!

2006-01-06T10:51:00.000-05:00

The Texas LP is fielding a record number of candidates this year! Give them, and Badnarik, your full support.

http://tinyurl.com/cwg8v

Badnarik already has an office set up and the staff is putting in 10 hr. days and it's only January! I love that man.

Patriot Act now due in 5 weeks

2005-12-23T11:03:00.000-05:00

The House rejected the Senate plan of a 6 month extension on the Patriot Act - they now have only 5 weeks to throw together some new fascism. Although they have all kinds of stuff just waiting in the wings, I'm sure. New Hampshire? Anyone?

Brutal Killers' Plans Thwarted

2005-12-22T10:46:00.000-05:00

Late Wednesday night, Senators voted to extend the Patriot Act for six additional months. 16 provisions of the act were set to expire at the end of December. Bush had some enlightening words to say on the issue: "This obstruction is inexcusable. The senators obstructing the Patriot Act need to understand that the expiration of this vital law will endanger America and will leave us in a weaker position in the fight against brutal killers." Atleast for now, we are safe from these brutal killers. How much do you wanna bet that when they revise this thing to re-pass it in six months, it will end up more abusive than it is now?

Have your citizenship papers out and ready...

2005-12-06T14:18:00.000-05:00

Meet Deborah Davis. She's a 50 year-old mother of four who lives and works in Denver, Colorado. Her kids are all grown-up: her middle son is a soldier fighting in Iraq. She led an ordinary, middle class life... until one morning in late September 2005, when Deb was riding the public bus to work. She was minding her own business, reading a book and planning for work, when a security guard got on this public bus and demanded that every passenger show their ID. Deb, having done nothing wrong, declined. The guard called in federal agents, and she was thrown to the floor, handcuffed, arrested and charged with fede ral criminal misdemeanors after refusing to show ID on demand.

This Friday morning, on the 9th of December 2005, Deborah Davis will be arraigned in U.S. District Court in a case that will determine whether Deb and the rest of us live in a free society, or in a country where the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution has been rendered null and void... where we must show our "papers" whenever a cop demands them.

U.S. Constitution: Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

To read the details of Deb's story, go to:
http://papersplease.org/davis/index.html

Article on our Free Speech Zone protest

2005-12-02T16:06:00.000-05:00

FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE: Standing up for what they believe
STAND and FIRE have two different approaches to protesting for their causes
By: Luke McIntyre
Issue date: 11/29/05 Section: Opinions

Almost two weeks ago, a group of both UNCG students and non-students
emailed the Office of Student Life with the announcement that they
would be meeting on the library lawn and holding a protest. They were
going to meet in front of the library to protest the free speech zone
some fifty yards away. Their email, thought it was sent only the night
before, did not go unread and police showed up to the site thirty
minutes before the group did. Even with the police present they set up
their signs and quietly stood in protest to university policy. The
group was separate from but promoting an organization called FIRE, or
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Their signs declared
"UNCG hates free speech" and that we attend "UNC-Gestapo."

Their obvious intentions were to break the rule and to get some sort
of reaction from university officials, which sort of happened. Perhaps
it had something to do with the cameramen present, but the police
decided that since the group wasn't breaking any other rules that they
could stand where they were. It's not like they were laying down in
the street or anything. Then, as if the sweet gods of irony decided to
rain their sarcastic gifts upon us, another protest group showed up
and laid in the street.

Members of STAND, or Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, showed up for
a die-in. A die-in is like a sit-in except, of course, you pretend
you're dead. Unfortunately for them, police were already nearby and
this protest group was breaking another rule. They were obstructing an
emergency vehicle pathway by laying forty or so people down in the
middle of College Avenue.

Much like the first sit-in that coincidentally took place in 1960-era
Greensboro, these students made a symbolic protest to bring attention
to their cause. Unlike the four A&T students who so bravely demanded
service at a whites-only lunch counter however, when these protesters
were threatened with arrest they fled as if they had been set aflame.
All it took was one threat from a police officer and the die-in
participants suddenly sprung to life. Then, in a gesture they probably
thought defiant, some of the protesters linked arms and began walking
up and down College Avenue. I say some because several people
abandoned the protest altogether after police came. It was really as
if they had completely forgotten that they just folded by following
police orders to get off the ground and they thought their new protest
was really sticking it to the man. The man, were he present, would
probably have been holding in his laughter.

Unlike the STAND protesters, Allison Jaynes, who organized the free
sppech protest, and her group stayed put despite threats of
punishment. Jaynes herself said that she showed up that day expecting
to "either get arrested or tried by the Student Code." It was for this
reason that they employed two camera men to film the event, with at
least one other camera filming from a hidden spot if police attempted
to confiscate their tapes. In comparison, we can really see how
dedicated STAND is to fighting the genocide in Darfur.

The free speech protesters did a bit more than stand with signs, they
got results. At the protest was Associate Director of Student Life
Checka Leinwall, who spoke with several protesters and promised a
meeting to discuss the free speech zones. In the end, Jaynes' group
took their free speech by force.

I thought it quite funny when, while protesters and police were
battling it out in the middle of campus, some poor tour guide had to
bring a group of high school kids and their parents through what
looked like a scene from PCU. Then someone joked that the tour group
was blocking the sidewalk, which made me think about the Darfur
protest, which made me laugh. But later, after I composed myself,
something occurred to me. If College Avenue is really a road intended
for emergency traffic and can't be blocked, then what are university
employees doing zipping up and down it on golf carts? Emergency
traffic means only the vehicles that are carrying police, firefighters
or paramedics, not maintenance vehicles or anything else. But at UNCG,
as I always forget, if something is university sanctioned then they
obviously don't need to follow university policy.

Log on to Luke's blog at www.livejournal.com/~luke_mcintyre.

Just Say No to National ID

2005-11-22T11:56:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, November 12, Free State activists from Keene and as far
away as New London Connecticut gathered to defy national
identification systems. In full view of the social security
administration, social security cards were burned, sending a message
that national ID will not be accepted. Around twenty activists
gathered to take part in the torching festivities.

When Social Security was first foisted on America, the cards were
imprinted with, "Not to be used for Identification." People were wary
of the tyranny involved with a national ID card, so the government had
to promise that the Social Security number would never be used for ID.
They have broken that promise. As Americans became resigned to the
idea of having a national number, the promise was quietly removed from
the cards. Now, of course, the social security number is used for so
many purposes, it is a defacto national ID number. Doctors, banks,
motor vehicle departments, utilities companies…the list is endless of
groups wanting your national ID number, groups having nothing to do
with social security and retirement funds.

Now, with the passage of the Real ID act, the National ID card is
outright law, and no longer just a defacto national ID number.
Individuals wishing to travel in this country, whether it be driving
themselves or riding on trains, busses, and airplanes will now be
required to carry their national ID card, with their national ID
number included on it. Even walking in public requires a person to
carry their ID, as recent court decisions show. National ID cards are
to carry "biometric data" probably in the form of a RFID chip, which
can be read from a distance. Personal data about you will be
available to any hacker on the street, in addition to being given to
the Mexican and Canadian governments.

National ID cards have long been a tool of tyrannical government. A
government which abuses and therefore fears its populace needs to be
able to track them at all times. No government who governs justly
need barricade itself in, as Washington D.C. has done. A government
who remains the servant of the people need not track the peoples'
every move.

To protest the injustice of the national ID number and national ID
card, Russell Kanning, Kat Dillon and Lauren Canario of NHFree.com
burned their social security cards in front of the social security
administration in Concord, NH. A battered Lady Liberty made her
appearance. National ID and the Patriot Act have given Ms. Liberty a
rough few years. Signs at the event read, "Your number citizen,
Welcome to the Machine," and "Social Security: The Big Lie. World's
largest pyramid scheme. Ponzi would be proud." Signs were left for
SS Admin employees to enjoy the next workday. Kanning left the event
with the satisfaction of knowing that, "I finally said no to the
government on issues of being numbered and being a part of the social
security system." Young William G., age 4, who attended the event
stated emphatically, "I don't want to be a number!"

Social Security Card Burn, The Movie is now available, free!
(About 5 1/2 minutes)

For more information, visit:
http://nhfree.com
http://freestateproject.org
http://keenefreepress.com

Free Constitution

2005-11-09T10:22:00.000-05:00

Order your free pocket constitution today and READ it!

(Also fun to carry around in your glove box. I keep my registration tucked in to the Fourth Amendment and ask cops at road blocks if they'd like to read it.)

Economics Lesson from Tom Sawyer

2005-10-26T11:14:00.000-04:00

*** Tom meets Huck while on his way to school. Tom asks:

"Say -- what's that?"

"Nothing but a tick."

"Where'd you get him?"

"Out in the woods."

"What'll you take for him?"

"I don't know. I don't want to sell him."

"All right. It's a mighty small tick, anyway."

"Oh, anybody can run a tick down that don't belong to them. I'm satisfied with it. It's a good enough tick for me."

"Sho, there's ticks a plenty. I could have a thousand of 'em if I wanted to."

"Well, why don't you? Becuz you know mighty well you can't. This is a pretty early tick, I reckon. It's the first one I've seen this year."

"Say, Huck -- I'll give you my tooth for him."

"Less see it."

Tom got out a bit of paper and carefully unrolled it. Huckleberry viewed it wistfully. The temptation was very strong. At last he said:

"Is it genuwyne?"

Tom lifted his lip and showed the vacancy.

"Well, all right," said Huckleberry, "it's a trade."

Tom enclosed the tick in the percussion-cap box that had lately been the pinchbug's prison, and the boys separated, each feeling wealthier than before.

That last line captures the essence of a free market system. The only transactions that should occur are ones in which each party values what they're receiving more than what they gave in return.

(Thanks to Susan Hogarth for this illumination.)

Dixie Classic Fair

2005-10-12T11:11:00.000-04:00

It came to an end this past Sunday, but we had a highly impressive booth set-up this year thanks to our talented decorators, Bev and Susan, and all who donated various materials. The display was simple, succinct and eye-catching. It really focused on our ballot access efforts which was a genius move, since almost everyone has heard of our misfortune (which is good and bad). All the people that showed up to work the booth were real troopers and I have to be grateful to each and every one of them. Since this may well be Guilford's last year participating in the Dixie Classic, I thought some pictures were in order.

Animal Law

2005-10-09T15:46:00.000-04:00

This law recently discovered by Paul Elledge in the NC general statutes:

Permitting bitch at large.

If any person owning or having any bitch shall knowingly permit her to
run at large during the erotic stage of copulation he shall be guilty
of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

(makes me giggle.)

Also just found out from the animal shelter I volunteer for that all animals that have resided at an animal shelter in NC for more than 30 days must be provided with one toy.

So deprive them of love and home for 30 days, THEN throw them a chew toy. See how many will be interested in a squeaky bone after 30 days in a cage.

New 'New Deal'

2005-09-29T10:26:00.000-04:00

"So far, Congress has sped through bills providing $62.3 billion for Katrina relief - and made it clear these are just first installments.
'That's a good start, but victims need more,' Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said..."
(from here)

Some stats on previous natural disaster spending:

$15.5 billion - total spent from all levels of government on the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake
$14 billion - total spent on last year's Florida hurricanes
$10.8 billion - spent on Hurricane Andrew in 1992

So Katrina is already seeing five times the gov't. money as the LA earthquake, and that's just the beginning. I don't want to downplay a tragedy here, but these things happen all the time and those homeless families don't get this kind of money thrown at them. As John Hammer, editor of the Rhino Times, pointed out last week,

"It is a tragedy that people are homeless, but they are no more or less homeless than those people who were flooded out by the Mississippi River during the Clinton administration. Nor are they any more homeless that the people of Princeville, or other towns in eastern North Carolina who were flooded out by Hurricane Floyd."

Could all this money-throwing perhaps have something to do with Bush's latest approval ratings???

Only in New York

2005-09-28T10:40:00.000-04:00

Woman gets ticketed for sitting on a park bench without a child...

Some Humor for a Boring Tuesday

2005-09-27T10:47:00.000-04:00

Donald Rumsfeld is giving George Bush his daily briefing, and he
tells Bush, "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed in Iraq."

"Oh, no!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"

His staff sits, stunned at this sudden display of emotion, nervously
watching as the President sits, head in hands.

Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"

Disarming New Orleans

2005-09-16T12:18:00.000-04:00

"No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons."
-Deputy Police Chief Warren Riley

The NY Times reported several days ago that NO police and the National Guard were being ordered to confiscate the guns of all remaining New Orleans citizens. But apparently this does NOT apply to the private security forces hired to protect expensive industry and businesses. First of all, how dare they take guns from any law-abiding citizen! Secondly, why do the industries have the right to protect their property while the citizens do not? There were many ordinary folks that sat up nights with a loaded firearm and managed to protect their only property from looters. And I thought that the Fed's involvement with Katrina couldn't sink any lower....

Full NY Times story (if you aren't registered to view their precious website, I suggest you visit BugMeNot)

If you're not mad yet, watch the video on the gunowners.org site of the citizens being handcuffed in their own home while their firearms are taken away by thugs in camo.

Victory Over Federal Budget Fat... huh?

2005-09-15T13:09:00.000-04:00

From the Washington Times on Wednesday: "DeLay declares 'victory' in war on budget fat"

Excerpt: "House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an "ongoing victory," and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget. " (emphasis mine)

So you ask, "are you serious?". Yep, it's for real.... or maybe the word is surreal.

Wikipedia.org friendly towards libertarians?

2005-09-11T12:47:00.000-04:00

yay! one of wikipedia.org's recently featured articles was the one on Anarcho-capitalism. Let's hear it for self-ownership!

I've also seen libertarianism, Ayn Rand and the Libertarian Party be featured articles on wikipedia in the very recent past...

Citizens Can Indeed Be Detained Indefinitely

2005-09-10T15:41:00.000-04:00

It's been upheld in court - Bush doesn't need to charge Jose Padilla or let him out of prison. i guess they figure he can just rot in jail until we've all forgotten about him.

[Houston Chronicle story]

Even Vets Are Pissed

2005-08-24T16:43:00.000-04:00

I love this picture:

For the whole story, click here.

Libertarians Officially Decertified : (

2005-08-23T13:01:00.000-04:00

OK, I'm back from Thailand. Life can go on as before...

So, the most recent distressing news is that the State Board of Elections in NC has decided to decertify the Libertarian Party. This decision was made final at a meeting Monday night. Read the APNC story for full details.

Thailand

2005-07-21T09:03:00.000-04:00

I have not posted in a while, I know. But I'm currently in Thailand. I had four days between getting home from 2 weeks in Utah and leaving for 4 weeks in Thailand. Once I'm done roaming for the summer, you can expect regular posts every day or so.

Everyone here (atleast in Bangkok) thinks of capitalism and Western Capitalism as the same idea. So of course, to them, capitalism is evil. But you should see how much they buy!! There are street vendors covering every single square inch of space, and it's not the Americans and Europeans buying - it's the Thai. For a country where 98.4% of the population are Buddhists, they sure consume a lot of useless crap. Even the monks! (and they love Disney, mickey mouse and donald duck are everywhere - I find that strange).

So, in the meantime, check out the newly designed LPNC site. Thanks a bunch to our new webmistress!

Do you even listen to yourself speak??

2005-07-14T13:27:00.000-04:00

Go ahead and read this article on CNN.

Read the last paragraph and then proceed to laugh out loud or shake your head and go take a shot.

The Fourth

2005-07-12T15:23:00.000-04:00

I spent July 4th in the middle of nowhere - Canyonlands National Park, Needles District to be exact. I was on an 11 mile hike through some canyons, and not one single firework was seen. Can't say I missed them either. Every July 4th I just keep getting more and more disheartened at the fact that nobody seems to grasp the significance of the holiday.

(By the way, the Declaration of Independence wasn't actually signed on July 4th, 1776, as most people believe. It was simply approved by the Continental Congress on that date. It didn't get written in caligraphy and signed until that August.)

Here's an excellent modern day rendition of one of the most important documents of all time. Read it alongside the original, for a whole new perspective:
The Declaration of Independence
in American
by H. L. Mencken
1921
When things get so balled up that the people of a country got to cut loose from some other country, and go it on their own hook, without asking no permission from nobody, excepting maybe God Almighty, then they ought to let everybody know why they done it, so that everybody can see they are not trying to put nothing over on nobody.

All we got to say on this proposition is this: first, me and you is as good as anybody else, and maybe a damn sight better; second, nobody ain't got no right to take away none of our rights; third, every man has got a right to live, to come and go as he pleases, and to have a good time whichever way he likes, so long as he don't interfere with nobody else. That any government that don't give a man them rights ain't worth a damn; also, people ought to choose the kind of government they want themselves, and nobody else ought to have no say in the matter. That whenever any government don't do this, then the people have got a right to give it the bum's rush and put in one that will take care of their interests. Of course, that don't mean having a revolution every day like them South American yellow-bellies, or every time some jobholder goes to work and does something he ain't got no business to do. It is better to stand a little graft, etc., than to have revolutions all the time, like them coons, and any man that wasn't a anarchist or one of them I.W.W.'s would say the same. But when things get so bad that a man ain't hardly got no rights at all no more, but you might almost call him a slave, then everybody ought to get together and throw the grafters out, and put in new ones who won't carry on so high and steal so much, and then watch them. This is the proposition the people of these Colonies is up against, and they have got tired of it, and won't stand it no more. The administration of the present King, George III, has been rotten from the start, and when anybody kicked about it he always tried to get away with it by strong-arm work. Here is some of the rough stuff he has pulled:

He vetoed bills in the Legislature that everybody was in favor of, and hardly nobody was against.

He wouldn't allow no law to be passed without it was first put up to him, and then he stuck it in his pocket and let on he forgot about it, and didn't pay no attention to no kicks.

When people went to work and gone to him and asked him to put through a law about this or that, he give them their choice: either they had to shut down the Legislature and let him pass it all by himself, or they couldn't have it at all.

He made the Legislature meet at one-horse tank-towns, so that hardly nobody could get there and most of the leaders would stay home and let him go to work and do things like he wanted.

He give the Legislature the air, and sent the members home every time they stood up to him and give him a call-down or bawled him out.

When a Legislature was busted up he wouldn't allow no new one to be elected, so that there wasn't nobody left to run things, but anybody could walk in and do whatever they pleased.

He tried to scare people outen moving into these States, and made it so hard for a wop or one of these here kikes to get his papers that he would rather stay home and not try it, and then, when he come in, he wouldn't let him have no land, and so he either went home again or never come.

He monkeyed with the courts, and didn't hire enough judges to do the work, and so a person had to wait so long for his case to come up that he got sick of waiting, and went home, and so never got what was coming to him.

He got the judges under his thumb by turning them out when they done anything he didn't like, or by holding up their salaries, so that they had to knuckle down or not get no money.

He made a lot of new jobs, and give them to loafers that nobody knowed nothing about, and the poor people had to pay the bill, whether they could or not.

Without no war going on, he kept an army loafing around the country, no matter how much people kicked about it.

He let the army run things to suit theirself and never paid no attention whatsoever to nobody which didn't wear no uniform.

He let grafters run loose, from God knows where, and give them the say in everything, and let them put over such things as the following:
Making poor people board and lodge a lot of soldiers they ain't got no use for, and don't want to see loafing around.
W hen the soldiers kill a man, framing it up so that they would get off.
Interfering with business.
Making us pay taxes without asking us whether we thought the things we had to pay taxes for was something that was worth paying taxes for or not.
When a man was arrested and asked for a jury trial, not letting him have no jury trial.
Chasing men out of the country, without being guilty of nothing, and trying them somewheres else for what they done here.

In countries that border on us, he put in bum governments, and then tried to spread them out, so that by and by they would take in this country too, or make our own government as bum as they was.

He never paid no attention whatever to the Constitution, but he went to work and repealed laws that everybody was satisfied with and hardly nobody was against, and tried to fix the government so that he could do whatever he pleased.

He busted up the Legislatures and let on he could do all the work better by himself.

Now he washes his hands of us and even goes to work and declares war on us, so we don't owe him nothing, and whatever authority he ever had he ain't got no more.

He has burned down towns, shot down people like dogs, and raised hell against us out on the ocean.

He hired whole regiments of Dutch, etc., to fight us, and told them they could have anything they wanted if they could take it away from us, and sicked these Dutch, etc., on us.

He grabbed our own people when he found them in ships on the ocean, and shoved guns into their hands, and made them fight against us, no matter how much they didn't want to.

He stirred up the Indians, and give them arms and ammunition, and told them to go to it, and they have killed men, women and children, and don't care which.

Every time he has went to work and pulled any of these things, we have went to work and put in a kick, but every time we have went to work and put in a kick he has went to work and did it again. When a man keeps on handing out such rough stuff all the time, all you can say is that he ain't got no class and ain't fitten to have no authority over people who have got any rights, and he ought to be kicked out.

When we complained to the English we didn't get no more satisfaction. Almost every day we give them plenty of warning that the politicians over there was doing things to us that they didn't have no right to do. We kept on reminding them who we was, and what we was doing here, and how we come to come here. We asked them to get us a square deal, and told them that if this thing kept on we'd have to do something about it and maybe they wouldn't like it. But the more we talked, the more they didn't pay no attention to us. Therefore, if they ain't for us they must be agin us, and we are ready to give them the fight of their lives, or to shake hands when it is over.

Therefore be it resolved, That we, the representatives of the people of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, hereby declare as follows: That the United States, which was the United Colonies in former times, is now a free country, and ought to be; that we have throwed out the English King and don't want to have nothing to do with him no more, and are not taking no more English orders no more; and that, being as we are now a free country, we can do anything that free countries can do, especially declare war, make peace, sign treaties, go into business, etc. And we swear on the Bible on this proposition, one and all, and agree to stick to it no matter what happens, whether we win or we lose, and whether we get away with it or get the worst of it, no matter whether we lose all our property by it or even get hung for it.

Home from Utah!

2005-07-12T01:16:00.000-04:00

I've been camping/hiking through Utah these past 2 weeks - just got home tonight, and promise to post some news tomorrow when I'm more conscious.

Von Winkle Refuses to Leave New London, CT Homes

2005-06-26T10:58:00.000-04:00

Of course, you've all heard about the extremely disheartening Supreme Court decision regarding eminent domain. Here's a story on Yahoo news with an overview:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050624/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_seizing_property

The hopeful part, though, is at the very end:

"It's a little shocking to believe you can lose your home in this country," said Von Winkle, who said he would battle beyond the lawsuits and fight the bulldozers if necessary. "I won't be going anywhere."

Atleast one homeowner is refusing to leave at all costs. If he goes through with his plan, will the local authorities simply shoot him? Or bulldoze him in to the ground along with his properties?

Americans do not own anything. Our lives, our bodies, our property - it all belongs to someone else. We are slaves and the chains are getting tighter.

Free Speech at UNCG?

2005-06-21T00:58:00.000-04:00

Here's an LTE Paul Elledge wrote in to the Rhino and the N&R:

Dear Editor,
I don’t know whether or not you guys at The Rhino knew about the so-called “free-speech zones” at UNCG, so I thought I’d tell you about my experience there on Thursday, June 9 – that my friend and I may get arrested for exercising our rights to free speech and to petition the government. This seems like the sort of thing you’d like to do a story on. Here’s the quick write-up I posted to my blog:
Free speech does not exist at UNCG, a public university, at least according to the delusions of whoever sets university policy. While gathering petition signatures there yesterday to get the Libertarian Party on the ballot in North Carolina, a friend and I had an encounter with UNCG staff. They told us that we couldn’t stand outside in front of the Elliott University Center because it’s not a free-speech zone. We refused to leave and told them that wherever we happened to be standing is a free-speech zone, as long as it’s on public property, and that we were exercising our rights to free speech and to petition the government as protected by the First Amendment.
They didn’t buy it, but they didn’t try to have us arrested either, as I suspected they would. Instead, they asked us to come to a conference so that they could explain the “rules” to us. We decided to humor them. That way we’d know exactly what they believe the rules to be, giving us more information on how best to sue them if it comes to that.
Here are the rules that UNCG thinks it has passed:
There are two free-speech zones on campus. Within these zones, people may speak as they wish and distribute literature, as long as they let UNCG know 48 hours in advance. (Of course, that means that even in that case, it’s not free speech, because you have to get permission two days in advance.) You may not gather petition signatures in the free-speech zones, however, because that’s soliciting, not speech.
You may gather petition signatures on campus if you belong to a student group and if you reserve a table in one of two spots on campus. Otherwise, it’s prohibited.
We will first try through diplomatic means to get UNCG to repeal these rules. If diplomacy fails, we will seek aid to bring a lawsuit against UNCG. I look forward to it. In the meantime, we will continue to petition at UNCG wherever we please.
Paul Elledge

The "friend" was me, of course. The Rhino published this letter in last week's edition, and the N&R should be doing a story on it sometime soon. A free speech "zone" on public property with required notification is absolutely the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a while... and to see all those faculty members tell us that with a straight face...

another voter

2005-06-19T09:08:00.000-04:00

Two nights ago I ran in to a high school friend I had not seen in many years and he told me that he voted for me... both times ('02 and '04). This happened just about every day right after the election and now its with less frequency, but I'm still always surprised. Who cares how many votes I got? In the end, that is of no consequence. The real success is that all of these people know a Libertarian candidate personally. Now the Libertarian Party is not an isolated group of wackos (well, unless of course they've always known I was a wacko, which is entirely possible). Now their friend or acquaintance is a representative of the Libertarian Party and I know for a fact that most of those people knew very little about the party principles when they voted for me on November 2nd. That may seem a strange thing to be happy about, I know. But what it means is that now most of those people DO know what the party stands for. They saw my name, they voted for me, and then (hopefully) they went home and did their research. At the very least, they pay more attention when libertarianism is mentioned ("hey.... I know a Libertarian, in fact, I voted for one!"). If they weren't already, now they're all a little more familiar with the Libertarian Party - all 759 of them. And that makes me very happy.

Take Back Our State!

2005-06-17T15:49:00.000-04:00

Don't miss the Take Back Our State rally being organized by American for Prosperity, a libertarian-minded group. Check out the details at: http://www.americansforprosperity.org/nc/coalition/

Patriot Reauthorization Act a Danger to Liberty

2005-06-15T10:58:00.000-04:00

June 14, 2005

Patriot Reauthorization Act a Danger to Liberty

Libertarian Party Calls on Congress to Show Common Sense and Vows to
Fight for America

(Washington, D.C.) In a closed session last week, the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence voted to reauthorize and expand the USA
PATRIOT Act, which came into law weeks after 9/11. Originally, the
Patriot Act was set to expire after five years but the Bush
administration and Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez are seeking to
make the law permanent while expanding its reach and scope.

In its current form the Patriot Act violates at least six of the
amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights. Under the act, law
enforcement may conduct no-notice searches of residences and
businesses; conduct roving wiretaps; or seize personal files such as
medical, financial, employment and even library lending history.
Additionally, the PATRIOT Act has led to peaceful community groups
being investigated as terrorist cells.

While President George W. Bush credits the PATRIOT Act for securing
over 200 convictions, the majority of those convictions have little to
do with terrorism. The PATRIOT Act, originally crafted to protect the
nation from terrorists, has been used to fight corruption in Nevada
strip clubs; was used to track those responsible for computer crimes;
and has even been effective to foreign countries in fighting groups
such as HAMAS. Generally, the PATRIOT Act has been a failure within
its defined purpose.

The new version of the PATRIOT Act, already approved by a Senate
committee, will expand the reach of the FBI by giving individual
agents "administrative authority" to create and approve their own
search warrants. With no checks in place to prevent abuse, violations
of the law would go unnoticed under the expansion of the already
ineffective law.

"The Libertarian Party urges members of Congress to vote against the
Patriot Reauthorization Act" stated Joe Seehusen, executive director
of the National Libertarian Party. He continued, "If the PATRIOT Act
is made permanent and is expanded, the Libertarian Party will
continually fight to uncover abuses of the law and will assist in
protecting the privacy and civil liberties of all Americans."

prometheus

2005-06-12T11:07:00.000-04:00

check out the clever goods for sale at the official store for the Prometheus Institute:

http://www.prometheusinstitute.net/store/

I especially like the t-shirts for the federal reserve ("Creating depressions and recessions since 1913!"):

http://www.prometheusinstitute.net/store/fitch_fed.htm

and the transportation security administration ("With us, you're more than a traveler. You're a potential terrorist!" ):

http://www.prometheusinstitute.net/store/fitch_tsa.htm

Patriot Act here to stay?

2005-06-07T11:00:00.000-04:00

here's a good article on the recent secret meetings to discuss the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. if they fail to tack on any sunset provisions, that means the Patriot Act is here to stay.

http://www.christiansciencemonitor.org/2005/0606/dailyUpdate.html

REAL ID bill really passes

2005-05-13T11:22:00.001-04:00

Hidden in an appropriations bill to fund the ongoing Iraq takeover, the REAL ID bill passed in the Senate Tuesday with a 100-0 vote.

(The full text can be accessed at: http://thomas.loc.gov type in HR 1286.RFS and scroll to the bottom for the bit about drivers' licenses)

Some of the scarier parts include:

"Beginning 3 years after the date of the enactment of this division, a Federal agency may not accept,
for any official purpose, a driver's license or identification card issued by a State to any person unless
the State is meeting the requirements of this section."

Alright people, we have 3 years to take over New Hampshire...

"To be eligible to receive any grant or other type of financial assistance made available under this title,
a State shall participate in the interstate compact regarding sharing of driver license data, known as
the `Driver License Agreement', in order to provide electronic access by a State to information
contained in the motor vehicle databases of all other States."

Basically a threat to make sure all states participate in the linking of databases.

Other requirements: "Subject each person applying for a driver's license or identification card to
mandatory facial image capture."

Of course this means a digital capture, and implies all sorts of facial recognition technology...

Illegal immigrants will no longer be able to obtain a license. People wthout homes won't either, making them illegal as well. And of course the whole operation will be coordinated by, who else?, the Dept. of Homeland Security. And don't worry, your very own personal RFID chip will be included as well.

First blog ever...

2005-05-06T17:15:00.000-04:00

neat. finally i have a blog. this will basically be a log of all things libertarian-related. who knows how often i'll be able to post, but i'll try to update regularly, despite whatever craziness is happening in my daily life.

the life you live could be your own ... vote libertarian.